Editorial: A case of imbalance

Talk about it

Since when does $600 million equal $80 million?

It’s apparently so in the Minnesota Legislature.

State Rep. Greg Davids, chairman of the House Taxes Committee, announced on Monday a bill that would increase property tax refunds for homeowners who property tax bills rise dramatically. His plan would also slash $411.85 from the property tax bill of every business.

Don’t get us wrong. We like tax relief, particularly in the wake of a story we published Saturday about how city of Worthington residents will see tax increases of between 6 and 13.8 percent when they receive their tax statements in the next few days.

But given the amount of state cuts to local governments that were made in the last legislative session, it’s clear the impact of Davids’ bill won’t be great. Worthington Mayor Alan Oberloh, the current president of the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities, said as much.

“The legislature cut over $600 million of property tax relief in the summer of 2011 and today offered to fix it with $80 million,” Oberloh said Monday. ‘Businesses and homeowners are hurting, and we need a comprehensive and aggressive strategy to bring down property taxes — a strategy that acknowledges that the root cause of property tax increases are the continued cuts of aids to local governments.”

What’s even more questionable than Davids’ proposed legislation is where the money will come from, given a potential projected budget deficit of $750 million is on the horizon. It goes to show more work is needed on property taxes than simply a more-than-questionable balancing act.

Tags: opinion, editorials, minnesota, legislature, oberloh, worthington